DNA storage: The future direction for medical cold data storage.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Bioinformatics
• Data Science

Background:

• Increasing healthcare data volumes necessitate advanced storage solutions.
• DNA storage offers unparalleled density, durability, and cost-effectiveness for large datasets.
• Medical cold data requires long-term, secure, and accessible preservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review state-of-the-art DNA storage technologies for medical applications.
• To provide insights into designing DNA storage systems for medical cold data.
• To assess the feasibility and requirements for practical DNA data storage in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Review of current DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies.
• Analysis of data encoding, writing, reading, and accessing methods.
• Exploration of security measures including digital encryption and DNA steganography.

Main Results:

• Established techniques like DNA synthesis, NGS, and PCR are suitable for medical data storage.
• Regional in vitro DNA storage centers are proposed for multi-hospital service.
• Novel coding methods are crucial for immediate DNA data access.
• DNA steganography combined with digital encryption enhances data security.

Conclusions:

• DNA storage is a viable and promising preservation strategy for medical cold data.
• Commercial DNA storage techniques offer practical solutions for near-future implementation.
• Further research into advanced methods like artificial nucleotides is ongoing but not yet practical.